Alma Adèle Louise Almati née Heitmann (1861–1919) was a German-born Swedish

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

opera singer who sang at the

Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera ( sv, Kungliga Operan) is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the center of Sweden's capital Stockholm in the borough of Norrmalm, on the eastern side ...

between 1886 and 1897. Important roles included Amneris in '' Aida'', Azucena in '' Il trovatore'' and Brünhilde in '' Die Walküre''.

Biography

Born in Jersey City on 23 February 1861, Adèle Heitmann was the daughter of the German sea captain Berthold Hein Heitmann and Emma Henrietta Gercken. Following the death of her parents, she was adopted by the Swedish telegraph executive Alfred Harald Emil Fich and his wife who moved to

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

in 1868. After completing her schooling, she was taught solo singing at the Royal Swedish Conservatory under the opera singers Julius Günther and Isidor Dannström, with training in drama by

Signe Hebbe Signe Amanda Georgina Hebbe (30 July 1837 – 14 February, 1925) was a Swedish operatic soprano and instructor. Life Signe Hebbe was born in Värnamo to the journalist Vendela Hebbe and Clemens Hebbe. Education In 1848, at the age of elev ...

. She received further voice training under

Leocadie Gerlach Vilhelmine Leocadie Theresia Gerlach (née Bergnéhr; 26 January 1826 – 13 September 1919) was a Danish-Swedish mezzo-soprano opera singer who sang at the Royal Danish Theatre from 1845 to 1866. Considered to have been the country's most success ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

and from Mathilde Marchesi in both

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. After engagements in both Vienna and

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, using the name of Almati, she made her operatic début as Azucena in ''Il trovatore'', performing the role in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Copenhagen and

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. Thereafter she returned to Stockholm in 1886, where she played ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'' at the Royal Theatre. Apart from a study trip to Italy in 1889, she continued to perform there until her retirement in 1897. She then moved abroad. In 1895, she married the Swedish opera director, Ernst Axel Rundberg who died in 1901. In 1910, she married the German concert singer Gustav Adolf Henkels.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Almati, Adele 19th-century Swedish women opera singers Swedish operatic mezzo-sopranos Swedish operatic sopranos 1861 births 1919 deaths Actresses from Jersey City, New Jersey Musicians from Stockholm Immigrants to Sweden